


Christmas Waves A Magic

by somniumfelix



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Board Games, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Gift Giving, Ice Skating, M/M, No Angst, Shifting Lines References
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:14:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28201434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/somniumfelix/pseuds/somniumfelix
Summary: After what happened last year, Sirius can't stand the thought of Christmas. Remus has five days to make the Marauders last Christmas at Hogwarts the perfect one yet, even with the moon looming over him.
Relationships: Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, james potter/lily evans potter (background)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 25
Collections: SL Discord Writing Events





	Christmas Waves A Magic

**Author's Note:**

  * For [night_books](https://archiveofourown.org/users/night_books/gifts).



> For Nep <3  
> My darling, who showed me, through handmade gifts, butterfly wrapping paper, gorgeous Christmas music and all-around love and patience, how to love Christmas once again! I couldn't ask for a more wonderful platonic soulmate <3
> 
> Thank you to everyone over at the SL server for motivating me to write and making me take breaks with British Questions™ ;) I adore you all!
> 
> (ft SL References throughout! First person to find them all gets a cookie or smthn idk guys-)  
> (I tried to make this as 'historically' accurate as possible [Thanks, my '70's baby' Mum for the help hahah] including Elton John's sexuality at the time, visiting Santa at the Co-Op and board games that were released in the 60's and 70's! If you notice any errors, please let me know!)

**_Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful._ **

~

Sirius stayed starfished out on the bed, even as he heard the dorm room door opening and quietly closed behind him. He stared up at the canopy, his eyesight tracing the patterns of wood grain, and the few little nicks and marks from over the years. The muggle record Sirius had set to start playing droned on in the background, only accompanied by Sirius's own breathing and a set of footsteps as someone stepped into the room. He let out a sigh, and didn't turn to them.

"Elton John again, Pads? Someone might think you're in love."

"You know very well that's not who I'm in love with."

"Well, I'd hope not. I really don't want to be competing against Elton of all people for your affections."

Sirius pushed himself up off of his back, propped up on his hands, to look over to Remus. The brunette was leaning against one of the wardrobes right by the record player, arms folded and smiling. He looked happy enough, and Sirius's shoulders sank in relief, but the dark circles under Remus's eyes and the way he winced when he tried to raise his chin had the nerves creeping back.

"I really look that bad?" The younger boy laughed, and Sirius wondered just how worried he'd looked.

"No," Sirius smiled, "Just... it's still, what, five days until the full? You don't normally look- I mean, you-"

"I don't look like this until a day or so before, yes?" Remus jumped in to save Sirius the embarrassment. "No, I know. Last year stress, war stress, shorter days and longer nights, I guess it's all taking a toll on me," He shrugged to try and seem nonchalant. It wasn't working.

Sirius sat up straight and stuck his hands out, making grabby hands for a moment before dropping his arms again. "Need cuddles, or is it a bit of a no-touch day?"

"Maybe not cuddles, but can I come and lie next to you? Just... be near you?"

"Of course, Moonbeam! Come on!" He patted the mattress next to him, inviting a stiff and aching Remus to crawl onto the bed beside him and end up on his back, joining Sirius in staring up at the canopy. "We can listen to the rest of the album for now. I'll change it once it's done."

"Sounds good. I do love Elton John."

"So do I, Moons!" Sirius insisted with fervour, grinning up to the ceiling. "He's bloody wonderful! An amazing artist, talented beyond compare, a fashion idol-"

"Not as much as you."

"-And an iconic bisexual symbol in all that Muggle media! He's what people like us need in the world, you know!"

"You say that like we're bisexual, Pads," Remus couldn't help but laugh, folding his hands behind his head and closing his eyes softly.

"Well, no, I know we're not, we went all the way. But between you and me," Sirius snickered, nudging his boyfriend in the side lightly, "I think _he's_ all the way! Never mind what he told the Rolling Rocks or whatever!"

"Rolling Stones, Pads. Stones."

"Yeah, yeah, tom _a_ toes, tomatoes."

Remus gave a small snort before settling into the mattress further and sighing. It was hard on Sirius, to see his partner in such pain and stress, especially when he couldn't do much other than wait for the full to come and go. When his own form of affections were off the table (not that he'd begrudge Remus for not wanting to be touched, not at all) Sirius was left feeling rather useless. Instead, they stayed laying, listening as 

"Between Seventeen and Twenty" ended, and "The Wide Eyed and Laughing" began. 

The room was chilly, a cold wind passing through the slightly ajar window, and Sirius looked over to see snow lightly falling, a small sprinkle of shining white sene through the grass.

"I hope it's not snowing on the full," Sirius mused to himself.

"Hm? Why?"

"Wormy," He snorted, "I can't bear to hear him complaining about how cold it was on his little feet or how he couldn't walk as well on top of it all day after!"

"Like you're any better!" Remus complained with a laugh. He rolled over onto his side, and opened his eyes, staring at Sirius fondly. Sirius did the same, until they were facing one another, bodies apart but almost touching.

"What's that meant to mean?"

"You! You fuss over snow in your fur and on your paws! _Almost as bad as mud_ , I believe you said last year!"

"I'm not that bad!"

"You are too!" Remus smirked, tapping Sirius gently on his nose before humming, satisfied. "Anyway, you hate the snow, I hate that the moons on the twenty-fifth, so we both have something to complain about."

Sirius bit his lip.

Remus's face twisted, his eyebrows furrowing and eyes darkening, trying to smile and convince Sirius he was okay. It was a topic that kept coming up over the past couple of months, since the other three Marauders realised that the full moon was happening on Christmas day - Remus's favourite time of year. 

"Come on, Moons," Sirius said, "We can celebrate during the day, just small, and we'll be there the second you wake up the next morning, okay? And anyway! It's only Christmas, not that important!"

"Oh no- we're not having this argument again."

"I'm just saying, Christmas is a pretty shitty time of year, for me anyway. I don't see why you love it so much."

"I still don't get why you say that!"

"Christmas," Sirius sighed, "Is the time of year where dysfunctional families pretend to be less dysfunctional for the sake of societal appreciation and familiarity. It means nothing but keeping up appearances anymore!"

Remus raised an eyebrow.

"I-I mean! It's a crappy time of year, and it's cold, and you have to deal with the full. So yeah."

" _Christmas_ ," Remus mocked, "Is a gorgeous, beautiful, magical time of year where people who are going through struggles can pretend, just for a little bit, that everything's okay. They can get stuck into the whole thing, the decorating and the snow and the presents. You only dislike it because of-"

"What happened last year, I know."

"Come on, Siri. Christmas is beautiful. You used to like it. You remember our first Christmas at Hogwarts, when we went to the Slug Club? You, James and Peter had fun at that, didn't you?"

"But you didn't," Sirius grumbled. "You not having fun takes all the fun out of it."

"I- ugh, fine. Well, okay, I'll promise you this!" Remus declared, closing his eyes again and giving a sleepy yawn. Sirius's hand twitched with the urge to reach out and brush the stray hairs from his boyfriend's forehead. 

"Hm?"

"By the time the sun sets on Christmas day, you'll have fallen in love with Christmas again!" Remus grinned. He shuffled ever so slightly closer to Sirius, so their noses were lightly brushing against one another. He was warm, incredibly warm, and Sirius inched ever so slightly closer. 

"I really don't-"

"You will, okay? It's our last Christmas altogether at Hogwarts, and I'll be damned if it isn't the best one yet. Full moon or no full moon."

\---

Remus huffed loudly, dumping the heavy-looking box onto his bed as the dorm room door closed. 

"Should you have been carrying all that, Rem?" Peter asked with furrowed brows, leaning over on his bed as though he was _trying_ to look into the box, but not putting in all that much effort.

"T-thinking about it now," Remus laughed, catching his breath, "Maybe levitating would have been a good idea, especially with all those bloody steps."

Sirius groaned, sitting up and glaring a little at Remus. "Baby, come on, please. You need to rest!"

"I don't need to do a thing, Padfoot," Remus smiled tensely. He, abandoning the mysterious box, walked over to Sirius's bed, leaning over and kissing his boyfriend on the forehead. "But I appreciate your concern."

"Better day today?" Sirius asked hopefully.

"Mhm. Far better."

"Ugh! _Baby_ , really?" James fake gagged as Peter let out a snort of laughter. "Just when I thought you two couldn't get any more fucking soppy!"

"Oh yes, like you and Lily are _so_ much better!"

"Zip it, Rem! You're her best friend, you tell her off! And for the record," James puffed out his chest, standing up from the bed, "Her favourite thing to call me is, and forever will be, Toerag!"

"Let's be honest..." Peter mumbled, amused, "You probably deserved it."

"Oi! Wormtail, what's that meant-"

"Remy! What's in the box?" He asked excitedly, winking to Remus as James turned to complain to Sirius instead.

Shaking his head, Remus went back over to his bed. He flopped down onto the bed, pulling his legs underneath him until he was on his knees, and began rummaging around. Sirius watched on curiously as Remus's smile grew and grew, his hands digging as far into the box as he could manage.

"This, my dear friend, is a box of stuff that Professor McGonagall and I transfigured this morning."

"Minnie helped?" Sirius grinned, perking up and swinging his legs off of the side of the bed, "Well, I am immediately intrigued."

" _Pads_."

"Yes, yes, she's a teacher, whatever, now what's in the box, Moons?!"

Sirius could hear James mutter a "He needs to learn some patience," followed by "Maybe Rem should put him on a leash," from Peter, but couldn't muster the attention span to glare. Instead, he leapt from the bed, and sat opposite Remus, the box in the middle of them. He peered in as Peter and James joined them, the bundle of limbs becoming far too big for the small twin sized bed now that they were getting older. 

Inside the box was an array of what Sirius guessed were Christmas decorations. They weren't like the posh, fancy ones that Hogwarts often used in the Great Hall. They were all made of glass, with charms to have swirling snow in the baubles, or glitter magically shimmering in the candlelight. No, instead, these decorations were mostly plastic, in garish colours and with various characters on them. Some were recognisable, like reindeer and snowmen, but the one that Sirius pulled out earned a puzzled look.

"What in the living hell is this?" Sirius laughed, glaring at the offending thing. It seemed like a tree decoration, as it had a string on the top, but instead of being spherical, it resembled a chubby man in a red suit with a white beard.

"Father Christmas," Remus said, pulling out an ungodly amount of gold lametta from the box. James continued to rummage around, setting various shiny objects between himself and Peter and observing them carefully. 

"Father Christmas?" Sirius said suspiciously.

"He's like a figurehead for Christmas. Becoming really popular with Muggles, you know?"

"You can go and visit him," Peter piped up, chucking the mauve bauble in his hand to Remus. "Well, someone dressed up like him. My aunt took my little cousin to see him at the new Co-Op round the corner from mine. Sat on his lap and told him what he wanted for Christmas and all that."

The confusion on James and Sirius's faces grew.

"Okay, I'm gonna gloss over the 'children sitting on a random man's legs' for now, and just ask why the fuck you have all this, Moony?" James laughed.

Sirius watched as his boyfriend seemed to shrink into himself, pulling his knees to his chest. "I-I- well..." He smiled weakly. "L-last Christmas here and all that, so- I don't know. I just thought it might be cool to decorate the dorm room?"

Oh. _Oh_.

This was the start of Remus's plan.

"This is your first attempt?" Sirius smirked, and before Remus could answer, James lept off of the bed. 

"Decorate?! Yes! We can transfigure a lamp into a tree, and put glitter everywhere! How would Spinnet and Struthers like their beds to be covered in tinsel?!"

Remus scrunched his face up. "I don't think-"

"it's gonna be so amazing! Come on, you lazy sods!" He cried, grabbing onto Sirius's arm and _pulling_. "Let's get started!"

There was no stopping James once he got started, and Peter and Sirius quickly hurried after him. The lamps by their beds were all transfigured into miniature Christmas trees, Sirius stuck on some music (not Christmassy, but he didn't own any Christmas records yet) and they got to work. Remus followed a little slower, but still grinning as he watched his friends decorate. 

James almost dove into the box head first, picking out tons of bright and gaudy tree ornaments that Remus knew wouldn't all fit, and going back to his bedside table. They decorated their trees, each one looking bold and unique and decidedly Christmassy, and the fond look on Remus's face made Sirius's heart warm. Then, back in the box, Sirius found some red and green paper garlands, a little crumpled, but still bright and delicate and pretty.

He looked around the room. 

Peter was still working on his tree, trying to fix the (scary looking) angel on the top, but every time he stepped away, it tilted and looked even wonkier than before. Remus was hanging his stocking on his bedpost, straightening it out until it was perfect - because of course, he was! This boy folded his socks, for Merlin's sake! James had charmed the curtains around his bed to have snowflakes on them and was now trying to get them to fall, much like real snowflakes.

Deciding that the garlands would look perfect hanging from the canopies of the beds, which were looking rather bare, Sirius grabbed his wand from his bedside table. A sticking charm on the ends, and then levitating them up onto the canopy should do, Sirius settled, opening his mouth to say the first incantation.

"Don't you dare!"

"What?" Sirius whipped his head around to see Remus glaring at him, arms folded. "I wasn't doing anything for once!"

"No magic! You can do that without your wand!"

"How on earth am I meant to stick them to the wood without a sticking charm?"

Remus grinned, wide and toothy and it made Sirius's heart melt.

"Blu Tack!"

"Not bloody Blu Tack," Sirius whined, "I hate that stuff! Can I just use charms? Please, Moony, please?" He pleaded, sticking his bottom lip out.

"Puppy eyes aren't working on me today, Padfoot!"

"But-"

"You can get on James's back! He'll lift you up if you can't quite reach!"

Remus stood back with Peter, watching smugly as James gave Sirius a piggyback ride. James couldn't stop laughing, going red in the face from the weight and the giggling, while Sirius clung, one-handed, onto the bedpost for dear life. Remus passed him a small wad of the tack, standing on his tiptoes so that Sirius could reach it. He did, sticking it to the end of the garland, and then to the bottom end of Remus's bed. James then sidestepped, slowly, to the other end. The wardrobe, however, was in the way, and Sirius had to lean across in an attempt to stick it up.

"Be careful, Pads," Remus muttered as Sirius leant further and further over. James's face seemed to go redder, and Peter took a few nervous steps back.

"Pfft! I'll b-be fine!" Sirius grinned with gritted teeth, stretching his arm far out in front of him to try once more to reach. "Careful is my middle name."

"No, it's not! It's-"

James's legs buckled beneath him as Sirius made one more quick stretch, before both came tumbling down with a crash. The garland was pulled from the bottom end of the bed as Sirius fell on top of James.

"G-get of you big lump!" James shouted, trying to push Sirius, who was nothing more than a laughing mess, off of him.

"Who the hell are you calling a big lump?!"

"You, you dog! Now-"

"You don't get to call me that! It's your fault we fell!" Sirius snapped, reaching out and grabbing a fistful of James's hair.

"You bastard, it was not!" James hissed back before doing the same.

The pair began tumbling around on the floor, pulling hair and shoving shoulders, all while laughing and shrieking various insults. They were rolling around, one pinned to the floor while the other straddled them, before pivoting and rearranging. The laughter got louder, joined in by Remus (who couldn't laugh too loud to save him the pain) and Peter (who more than made up for the others quietness).

"L-look at them!" Peter snickered, clutching his side and leaning against his own bedpost. James was sat on Sirius's chest, draping the garland around his shoulders and declaring himself the 'Christmas Champion' while Sirius writhed and laughed and shouted under him, whacking his back with all the strength he could muster - which wasn't particularly a lot. 

"Idiots, the pair of them!" Remus said, shaking his head and smiling.

"The four of us."

"Well, yes."

"Any chance we should get James off of him?" Peter suggested, not sounding particularly insistent on the idea.

"I mean... I don't know about you, but I fancy some hot chocolate."

"A trip to the kitchens, then?"

Remus gave a last look at the bickering brothers, and smiled once more.

"Sounds like a perfect plan, Wormy!"

\---

Sirius shook his hand, trying to get the tape off of his skin. It wasn't working, and he instead ended up with the other end of the sticky tape stuck to his wrist and the back of his hand. Reaching with his other hand to pull the tape off of him, he let go of the present, and the wrapping paper unfolded in an instant. 

_This_ , Sirius huffed in his head, _is what I get for trying to impress my boyfriend by wrapping presents the muggle way._

In a fit of anger, he pulled the tape off, scrunching it up in a sticky ball and lobbing it towards one of the other beds - Spinnets, if it landed where he aimed.

The present was still unwrapped, laying on a slightly crumpled piece of garishly coloured wrapping paper he snuck from the Muggle Studies storeroom. Sirius reached for his wand, twiddling the wood between his fingers, and contemplating just admitting defeat. While yes, the present was wrapped on the fourth attempt, it looked a mess, and attempt number seven was ruinous. 

Remus always had a talent for wrapping, somehow. This small, clumsy, stammering child had Sirius in awe every time it was coming up for the holidays. Sirius would sit on his bed, watching as Remus's fingers glided over the paper, folding and pinching and sticking in all the right places. Sirius never had that sort of patience. Remus's effort at teaching Sirius back in their fourth year ended disastrously, with Sirius screaming about tape in his hair, and Remus on his back, laughing with wrapping paper down the back of his shirt.

Sirius dropped the wand.

No, he could do this. He wasn't a pathetic pureblood who had to use magic to wrap his gifts. He would stick a piece of paper around a box and make it look good and then watch Remus's face light up when he admitted it was done by hand.

Just as Sirius was about to continue, the door swung open.

In a scramble, Sirius pushed everything under his bed, wrecking the wrapping paper in the meantime. He was sprawled across the floor and smiling up at the figure in the doorway.

"H-hey Buttercup!" Sirius grinned, too wide, and Remus cocked an eyebrow. 

"You only call me Buttercup when you're up to something," He glared, the intimidation cut off by the yawn that slipped from his lips.

"Not up to anything at all, my Moon! Just been listening to a lot of The Foundations! Y-you look tired, wanna lay down for a bit?"

"No, we don't have time!" Remus beamed, stepping into the room and letting the door close softly behind him. 

"Why not?"

"I, my dearest star," he cooed, "Have acquired a masterpiece that you just have to listen to this instant!" Remus pulled, from within his tatty old school satchel, a nondescript vinyl sleeve.

"Don't get me wrong, Moony," Sirius said, smirking slightly, "I love when you get excited over music. But unless you're presenting me with Lola Versus Powerman by The Kinks, then you certainly have _not_ acquired a masterpiece."

"You've listened to muggle music for a maximum of three and a half years, and you're already turning into a music snob!"

"All your fault, my love," He winked.

Remus, stepping further into the room and smiling at Sirius, made his way to the record player, and lifted up the dust cover. He pulled the vinyl from the sleeve slowly and set it onto the platter. 

"This," Remus said, lifting the tonearm, "Is a song by your 'Bisexual Icon' Elton John. It's a Christmas song, but I don't think you've heard it. It only got to 24 on the charts, but Mum-" He paused, furrowing his brows and pursing his lips in a way that made Sirius want to swoop him up, "Well, she loved it when it came out in '72, '73?" Remus set the needle onto the record, and after a few moments of the usual soft crackling, the sound of an acoustic guitar filled the room.

Sirius laid back and listened intently to Elton John's voice and the words he sang, and before he knew it, he was nodding along to the music.

"You like it," Remus smiled, not as a question.

"Considering its a Christmas song, it's not bad-"

"Not bad? This is brilliant!"

"How did you get it, anyway?" Sirius asked, standing up from the floor and walking to Moony.

"Your boyfriend has a fabulous Occlumency teacher."

"Ahh, Fawley, of course," Sirius nodded. Once he was stood in front of Remus, he held him gently by the waist. "This okay?"

"Yeah, it is," He said, bringing his arms over Sirius's shoulders to wrap around his neck. 

Slowly, they began swaying along to the music, Sirius beaming at Remus, marvelled at the boy's joy and beauty. Remus was lowly singing along, his smile never faltering as they baltered around the dorm room, Sirius spinning Remus gently about every once in a while. They giggled and sang and danced for all four minutes of the record, ere the song ended, the room filled with crackling once more, before falling silent.

"What's on the B-Side?" Sirius asked, still smiling.

"Oh, it's a song called Ho, Ho, Ho, Who'd Be a Turkey at Christmas, but it's pretty crap if I'm honest. Nowhere near as good as that."

Sirius slipped from his boyfriends hold momentarily, to go back to the record player and bring the tonearm back to the beginning. "Well then, I guess we'll have to listen to it again!"

The song began once more, and Sirius, back in Remus's arms, could sing along too. Halfway through, just as the chorus came in for the second time, the dorm room door opened, and James, Peter, Lily and Mary walked in.

"Having fun, lads?" James smirked, as though he was trying to tease them, but he was watching on far too fondly.

The boys never stopped moving to the music, and after a quick "Very much so, Prongs!" from Sirius, James took Lily's hand and joined them. Peter and Mary - despite being more like siblings than a couple - paired off also, and the six of them swayed and danced around the room, laughing, chatting and singing, all the while the music droned on in the background. 

Sirius's smile stretched from ear to ear the whole time, even as they changed partners and he ended up with Lily, who despite having perfect prose, natural beauty and never-ending elegance, had two left feet and couldn't dance for shit. God help her on her wedding day.

Remus danced with Peter while James paired up with Mary before they ended up dancing in a group. Remus sat out for a little, quietly letting Sirius know that everything all at once was a little too much, but quickly joined back in once he'd calmed down, pulling on his turtleneck, so his arms and neck were comfortably covered up. 

They danced and sang, Mary and Lily briefly left to bring back drinks and biscuits from the kitchens, and did nothing but laugh and be merry.

The record must have been played at least twenty times that evening.

\---

"Of all people to do something this dumb," Sirius huffed, tugging on the laces, "I never thought it would be you."

"Oi!" James shouted from the other side of the room. "It was my idea, actually, not Moony's!"

Now _that_ made more sense.

Hogwarts was completely and utterly dead now that most of the students had left for the holidays, and the Marauders, as they often did when the castle was quiet, took advantage of the empty classrooms. 

Turning one of the empty classrooms into an ice-rink was not typically one of the things they did.

Thick ice covered the ground, charmed to not melt under the flickering candlelights. The room was still cold, however, and all four boys were bundled up in matching homemade scarfs Remus had made them in their second year, Sirius in his hat from his birthday the same year, and in oversized jumpers.

James was on the other end of the room, grabbing onto the windowsill to steady himself before hopping onto the ledge, even though he seemed fairly confident on the shoes-turned-skates that Peter had transfigured. Peter was sat on one of the classroom desks that had been pushed to the side, his legs swinging back and forth before he jumped onto the ice. He stumbled a little, laughing, and clumsily skated over to James. 

"It was actually James's idea," Peter nodded, "But Remy's the one that pulled it off. James could never get the ice thick enough, and mine just wasn't cold enough. Remus's was perfect."

"As usual," James muttered jokingly, earning an equally as joking glare from Remus. The Remus in question was leaning up against the wall, arms folded and laughing.

"Come on, Pads!" He said, not responding to James's comment, "It shouldn't take that long to lace up a pair of boots!" 

"Alright, alright!" Sirius grumbled, tieing off the skate, and placing his hands firmly on his thighs. "I'm coming."

He, with another huff, pushed up off of the desk chair and took one quick step to glide over to Remus.

Just as quick, Sirius fell to the floor, this legs sliding from underneath him. His ass smacked the cold ice, and he couldn't help but let out a yelp. 

The laughter from his friends was deafeningly loud. Peter laughed so hard he joined Sirius on the floor, and James almost slid off of the window sill he was perched on. To Sirius's surprise, Remus was laughing the loudest, one hand flat on the wall and the other clutching his stomach as he tried to breathe through the giggles.

"A-a-are y-you okay, P-Pads?!" He managed to ask through the wheezing, wiping away a tear building on his lashline.

"Oh, thanks Rem," Sirius rolled his eyes. He put his hands on the cold, wet ground, and began to push himself up. "I'm feeling a lot of love and sympathy from my soulmate over there!" Just as he managed to stand up, one more step forward sent him tumbling to the ground again, and the laughter started up once more.

Sirius folded his arms defiantly. He pouted, glaring comedically at Remus who shook his head. If he wasn't going to get any help, then he'd stay on the ice in protest. Taking pity, Remus glided over to Sirius. He did so with such grace and elegance it took Sirius's breath away. His hair was falling a little in his eyes, his eyes going golden in the flickering candlelights. His arms stayed loose to his side, and his legs hardly moved. He simply drifted over to his partner, a bright smile and blush on his cheeks, until he put his hand out.

"Come on, you big baby!" Remus grinned, tightening his grip once Sirius took his hand. "Hop on up!"

"Y-you can skate?"

"I can. I thought you knew this?" He pulled his arm up, bring Sirius along with him, until he was looking up - rather than down - into wide, steely eyes.

"No! You think I'd forget that my perfect Moony could skate?!"

Remus gave a nervous laugh. "There's that pond in my back garden. It used to freeze over every winter, and I found an old pair of skates at a charity store on the highstreet when I was little. Saved up, bought them, and practised every day of December. It was, like, the only physical thing I was any good at!"

"Well, it's not the _only_ physical thing you're good at! If I remember rightly, a few weeks ago, you were rather good at that-"

"Sirius Orion Black!" Remus hissed, slapping his hand over Sirius's smirking lips, much to the delight of James and Peter to the side. "Watch your tongue!"

After a little more amused reprimanding from Remus, James hopped down from the window sill, and he and Peter began skating around. It was mostly stumbling, especially once they took one another's hand and began to drag each other around the room. With Sirius on his feet, Remus gave him a kiss on the cheek before skating off himself with far more grace than the rest of them. He looked free, as though the world was at his fingertips and the moon wasn't looming over, and Sirius was in awe. Remus was doing little twirls, tiny spins, grinning the whole time. That was, however, until he stopped right in front of Sirius.

"A-a-are you not having f-fun?" Remus asked nervously, noticing how Sirius hadn't moved. He gnawed on his lip.

"Oh no, I am!" Sirius said, snapping from his daydream and focusing on Remus's amber eyes. "I just, well, can't really move."

"You really can't skate, can you?"

"Not one little bit!"

Remus put his thin, shaking hands out. "Come on, hold my hands."

"Uh-"

"Do you trust me?"

"Always."

Sirius slowly stretched his arms out, letting his cold fingertips dance carefully over Remus's burning warm skin, before properly taking his hand and smiling.

"Okay, so..." Remus mumbled, his lip caught between his teeth. "I'm gonna skate backwards, and you just keep trying to move forward, okay? I won't let you fall. I promise."

While Sirius stepped forward slowly, Remus slid backwards, keeping his back straight and looking up at Sirius. His boyfriend watched intently, enamoured with how Remus's tongue stuck a little out of his mouth in concentration, and how every now and then, his amber eyes would flick down to look at Sirius's footing. Remus's hair flopped over his forehead and eyebrows, and he'd flick his head to try and move it from his face without letting go of Sirius's hands. They glided on the ice, and could slightly hear James and Peter talking and skating somewhere else in the room. Sirius was too absorbed in his partner and his adorable little habits to think about listening to them. 

The room was a little dark. The sky was dark, cold and brooding, and the candles were slowly burning out. Now Sirius was (a little more) steady on his feet, he paired off with Peter, the former stumbling by way of skating, one laughing when the other tripped. James had considerably improved, and was determined, with Remus's assistance, to learn how to skate backwards. Remus had his hands in James's, skating forward while James, panic-stricken, tried to move backwards. 

A fall, a few tears and James giving up in a huff later, Remus ended up with Peter. The blond boy was rather good at skating, and hand in hand, he and Remus twirled and danced and glided around the room, avoiding bumping into James and Sirius, and laughing at the scowls from the pair. They tried to join in, Sirius planning to lead and James wanting to spin about, only to end up on the floor, their friends watching them from the side, tears building in the corners of their eyes. 

Eventually, the candles blew out when a gust of wind came into the room, and Sirius could see the dark circles and drooping lids on his boyfriends face. Remus's smile was small and weak, sleepy, and Sirius refused to let him skate much longer. While he tried to complain and insist he was fine, Sirius wasn't having any of it, transfiguring the boy's skates back to shoes. Peter melted the ice, James moved the desks back to normal, and Sirius, with a lapful of sleepy Remus, smiled to himself.

"Are you liking Christmas a little more?" Remus asked with a yawn before pressing his cheek further into Sirius's leg. "I hope you are..."

"I am," Sirius answered honestly. Remus sat up and pouted until Sirius kissed him. "I am, little by little, every day."

\---

Sirius lept from his bed, throwing back the covers and running over to the other bed. He tripped over something (James's boxers, ew) but didn't pay any mind until he made it to the red curtains.

"Remy?" Sirius whispered, slowly and cautiously peeling back the curtain to look at Remus, "Moony, my love, do you need anything?"

Remus opened his eyes and smiled, but winced when he tried to push himself upright. "I'm okay," He croaked out, but sounding rather genuine. "Just need to wake up a bit, I think. Anyway, we have plans for today."

"Baby, no, you need to rest."

"It's not even the full yet, I'll be okay. It's nothing too bad. I think- I think skating took it out of me yesterday, that's all." Remus pushed up once more until he was sat upright and smiled softly. "Now, you, Prongs and Wormy go and get breakfast, and entertain yourselves for the morning. Come find me after lunch?"

"But how will we find you?"

"Oh yeah, I didn't think of that!" Remus sighed elaborately. "If only we had a map that showed our exact locations that we've been working on for years that we named after ourselves! Whatever shall we do?!"

Sirius narrowed his eyes. "Alright, you sarcastic bastard. I'm only not hexing you because you're ill."

"I love you too," Remus smiled.

After a few brief, sleepy kisses, Remus felt awake enough (and in less pain) to get out of bed, hurriedly getting dressed and rushing from the room. Sirius pushed away his monthly bouts of worry, and got ready with James and Peter, happy with how excited Remus had been in the run-up to the moon. He wondered for a moment if the moons could always be like this - if Sirius could always be there to cheer Remus up on his worst days. He hoped so.

They did just as Remus asked and headed to breakfast. Lily, who was already down there, was rather curious as to why Remus had run in clumsily, snatched up a load of toast and left without even saying why, and seemed very disappointed when none of them could give a genuine answer. Breakfast, despite it being a day away from Christmas, was a calm affair. Students from all the houses seemed to sit at the Gryffindor table, and Sirius, James, Lily and Peter were joined with a few younger Ravenclaw (and Slytherin, to their shock) while they ate. The table was hardly half full, but everyone was chatty, the decorations were gorgeous, and Sirius wasn't disgusted with the festivities for once.

After breakfast, the boys; without Lily who decided to stick with some of the younger students who wanted help on an essay; went back up to the dorm room to play some exploding snap before lunch. Lunch came and went, before Sirius got the map and looked for Remus's name.

"There he is," Peter said, pointing to a small dot labelled 'Remus Lupin' moving back and forth in the study room by the courtyard. Sirius folded the map back up, no doubt adding to the number of wrinkles and creases in the parchment, and stuffed it into his back pocket. The boys set off, heading out of the Gryffindor tower and towards the courtyard, giving McGonagall innocent smiles when they passed her on the staircases.

James pushed open the door and walked in, followed by Peter and then Sirius, who saw there was-

Nothing.

Well, not _nothing_ , just nothing too out of the ordinary. There was no frozen floor, or snow, or anything strange or elaborate. Instead, Remus was cross-legged on the floor with a mug in his hand, smiling up at them sleepily.

"Hey, I know it's not anything exciting, but I got a hold of a load muggle board games, and t-there's sweets and hot chocolate, and-"

"Muggle games?!" James exclaimed, letting go of the door and jumping to sit next to Remus. "What ones?"

"O-oh, uh- there's Monopoly, which we've played before."

"No, we aren't playing that!"

"Why not?"

"Because!" Peter protested, joining them on the floor, and Sirius followed after him. "You, Moony, might be this soft, overly sarcastic gay kid, right? But you and Monopoly are scary!"

Remus scoffed, "I'm not that bad!"

"Rem," Sirius said pointedly with raised eyebrows, "Baby, last time we played it, Peter cried."

"Yes, I did."

"Yes, he did."

"Well-" Remus began, stopping himself, "Okay, but that was one time-"

"Three times."

" _Three times_ \- Okay, let's skip Monopoly." Remus laughed in resignation and rested his cheek on his boyfriend's shoulder.

James dove into the pile of games not far from them, rummaging around and pulling out different boxes, examining them eagerly. 

"What's this one?" He asked, holding out a box in Remus's face.

"Oh, that's Operation," Peter jumped in while Sirius kept Remus comfy by his side. 

"What do you have to do?"

"You have these tiny tweezers, and you have to pull little toys out from his body without touching the side. If his nose lights up and you hear a buzz, then you lose. First person to have the most body bits wins!"

"Body bits- you know what, I'll ignore that! Let's play!"

"Uh James," Peter grimaced, pursing his lips, "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not?"

"You have to be really still, and kinda quiet, so-"

"Are you saying I can't be quiet?!"

"No! I just mean-"

"I'll show you, Pettigrew! I bet two Galleons I'll do better than you!"

"Two?!" Peter scoffed, "Come on, Potter, make it three!"

The pair continued to wrangle while Sirius slipped the game from an unsuspecting James's hand, before opening the box and setting it out. It was... odd. It showed a naked man lying down, with parts of his body cut out. Inside the small holes were little white objects, like a butterfly or a slice of bread, and attached to the main piece was a pair of tweezers. Remus explained the rules a little further (once James and Peter had stopped their entertaining bickering) and they set to play. 

"This looks horrifying," Sirius muttered under his breath. Remus gave a low laugh, and rubbed his eyes sleepily.

"I guess it is, at that," He chuckled, moving off of Sirius's shoulder but keeping close.

Peter took his turn first, and everyone was shocked to see him pull out the Adams Apple first, without even the slightest tremor in his hand. He dropped the tweezers with a flourish, grinning wildly as Remus went to take his go. His hands were weak and shaky, but he managed to keep still enough to only set the buzzer off twice. Sirius managed it in one attempt, and he passed them to James.

James spent 5 minutes deciding what object to pull out and eventually settled on the Writers Cramp. Then, he spent another three minutes deciding what angle to retrieve it from. He reached in slowly, and flinched every time there was a slight sound. The flinch caused a buzz, which caused another flinch, and James ended up in a loop until he abandoned the tweezers altogether. Two more attempts fueled his rage, until he gave up, grabbed his wand, and levitated it out, throwing the tiny pencil to Sirius, who was crying on the floor with laughter. Every slight giggle hurt Remus, but he couldn't help it, James's face growing redder and redder.

James refused to try again.

Remus suggested Cluedo, and the idea of a murder mystery game immediately cheered James up from his sour mood, his eyes going bright and wide once more. They set up the board as Sirius read out the instructions (and made very obvious jokes in regards to his name, the victim and the suspects), before choosing their colours. The game started slow, with Peter and Remus assisting where they could without spoiling the game. Eventually, they got the hang of it, and multiple times, Remus had to stop his boyfriend from screaming accusations at an equally as enthusiastic James. 

By the end of the game, however, when Peter was holding the 'Solution' envelope with the brightest beam, James's and Sirius were both scowling.

"Uno!" Remus suggested as a last resort, taking the cards from the packet and dealing them out. They'd played this before, to Remus's relief, and there was no need to explain anything further. They set to playing, glaring at one another over the top of the cards. The air was thick, tense, and a little too dramatic for a card game, but Sirius wouldn't change it for the world.

Remus peered over his cards. James had five cards and looked far too happy with them. Peter had six, while he had two and Sirius had three. His boyfriend looked too smug, and James seemed too sure of himself. 

"Plus four," James smirked, setting the black card down with a flourish. "Uh- yellow?"

Peter didn't look annoyed, instead putting down a yellow Draw Two card and smiling.

Remus pouted, a little overdramatic and not too genuine, as though he was mocking Sirius. "Sorry baby," He said to his boyfriend, unable to stop the twitching of his lips as he placed down the other yellow Draw Two.

"Firstly," Sirius glared jokingly, "You're not sorry at all. And secondly, sorry Prongs! Red!" He laughed, chucking down yet another Wild Draw Four card, before his face dropped as James's grin grew. James, without another word, pushed up his glasses and chucked down a red Draw Two. 

Peter did the same.

Remus looked down to his remaining card. He could be nice - he could draw from the pile and let Sirius have this. His face, however, gave him away. 

"Moony..." Sirius warned, narrowing his eyes at his partner. "Don't you dare. I know what you have. Just be a man and take the- the- however much it is-"

"Draw twelve!" Peter supplied.

"Draw twelve! Come on, my moon, please be nice, don't you-"

"Draw four! Uno!" Remus smiled chucking his last card onto the pile, erupting into laughter as Sirius huffed and pouted, crossing his arms over his chest. 

"Ha!" James barked, dropping his last three cards to the ground, "Nice one, Rem!" He continued to laugh, Peter joining in, as they gathered up the cards, straightening them out to but them back in the box.

Sirius grumbled, resting his cheek on Remus's shoulder. "It's lucky I love you."

"Yeah," Remus smiled sleepily, "It is."

\---

"Pads."

"Ahh..." Sirius groaned wearily, trying to turn over to face the direction the voice was coming from. He made it halfway, laying in his back, eyes still closed.

"Pads, wake up, it's Christmas!" Remus whispered, draping an arm over Sirius's chest. 

"Too early."

"Oh," Remus sighed, sounding disappointed. "I just thought that..."

"That what?"

"Maybe..." He began trailing a finger lightly over Sirius's chest, smiling against his neck. "If you woke up now, I could give you your Christmas present now." Remus rested his hand on Sirius's naval. 

"Okay," Sirius said, turning to his side and smirking, opening his eyes slowly. "I'm up."

Remus sat up and pulled back the curtains, grinning down at his boyfriend. "Good boy, Pads! Now, it's already eleven, and the sun sets just before four, so I want to be at the Hospital Wing by three at the latest."

"Wha- But I thought! _Present_!" He whined, to Remus's amusement.

"Yes, present. Now come on, Prongs and Wormtail are already awake."

"But the present!" Sirius continued to protest, "I thought it was- Oh Lupin, you twat."

"A tease," He laughed, and wincing afterwards, "I know. Come on, gift time."

The boys, not bothering to change out of their pyjamas, sat on the floor, with a large pile of presents in front of them. The paper was bright and shiny, and Sirius watched as Remus looked in awe. The bags under his eyes were worse than usual, his smiles were a little smaller, and he seemed to shake, despite the warm air of the room. Sirius asked if he was okay, and was met with pleading eyes. He quickly tugged a blanket from his bed, wapping both himself and Remus in it as the smaller boy kept enough room between them so that they weren't touching, yet close enough to get warm. 

James went to open his first, taking the six presents with his name on and beginning to open them eagerly. He opened his gifts from Sirius first and was grinning from ear to ear, shouting thanks at Sirius, who bought him three or so new paisley shirts, as well as tickets to the next Chudly Cannons game, where they'd go head to head with the Caerphilly Catapults in the new year. Peter got him a broom care kit, along with a new Exploding Snap set, which were also met with fierce thank yous and hugs. 

"I-I-It's n-not really m-much..." Remus shrugged, passing his presents to his friend nervously. The first was a hamper of sorts, with different sweets, homemade cookies, and different small joke products for them to use. James opened the second, holding up the maroon gloves and looking at them stary eyed. 

"Rem!"

"T-they're not much, b-but they're - with Pete's mums help - made to withstand wear and stuff, like my blanket, so you can-"

"Use them for Quidditch!" He beamed brightly, pulling the gloves on, despite wearing shorts and a t-shirt.

"Well, they could, if you wanted."

"I love them, Remy! Thanks!" James smiled, making a heart with his hand from across the pile of presents. 

Peter's took his singular present, trying to hide the mild disappointment on his face, when Sirius jumped in before he began to open it.

"Right! We should explain!"

"We know you only have one," James continued, "But it's not what it looks like! It- well, it's a fairly big one, and we'd have gotten more, but it took us ages to get that."

"It... really did. Rather stressful, really!" Remus nodded.

"We had to get Fawley involved, and McGonagall-"

"And Rem's Mum, even!"

"It was a mess."

"But-!"

"We got it!"

"And we should just let him open it, right?" Remus laughed, shaking his head weakly at the brothers' enthusiasm.

"Okay!" Peter smiled. His eagerness was renewed, and beginning to peel back the tape. He unfolded two parts of the paper, looking at the gift carefully as his eyes began to well up.

"It's cool, right?!" James grinned, nudging Peter, who was still in a trance staring at the box, "Right?! _Right_?!"

"C-cool... Cool?"

"Uh- Peter? If you don't like it, we can-"

"Cool? This is _so_ much better than cool!" The blond exclaimed, suddenly tearing off the rest off the wrapping and hugging the box to his chest. He bought it back out in front of him, taking the camera out of the silver and red box, holding it as though it was glass, turning it to examine it. "Canon AE-1, fifty millimetre lens, speed range of two to one out of a thousand, and the first microprocessor-equipped SLR! _Guys_!" Peter cried, "This is wonderful!"

"Y-you kept going on about it last year," Remus tugged at his sleeves before pulling the blanket further over his shoulders. "So we went out and got one."

"But- but, the cost!"

"And? You have serious talent and passion! We just wanted to aid in that! Just as how you have with James's Quidditch!"

"What, and in the same way that Sirius has his bike, and you have, what, school?" Peter teased, searching up his nose in amusement.

" _Har har. Y_ ou know, it's not too late to take that back!" Remus said with an exaggerated smile.

"Damn Moony, harsh much!" He laughed, "But really, thank you guys, all of you. This- oh this is so amazing! We'll have to test it out tomorrow- uh, day after!"

"You can test it tomorrow."

"Not if you're not there," Peter smiled.

Remus gave another smile and pat Peter on the back, before slumping down and fighting off a yawn. 

"Alright, let's get mine and Moons done so we can get this one to sleep for a bit," Sirius said, pulling the blanket further around his boyfriend and resisting the urge to pull him in for a hug. 

"I don't need to-" Remus cut himself off with another yawn, "Okay, maybe I do. And everything hurts, and it's loud so- yeah, let's finish this up, and you guys can chill when I'm off to Pomfrey."

"I can't wait for tonight," James said offhandedly, passing Remus all the presents with his name on. "I love running in the snow, and it's all pretty when it's foggy. Just wish it wasn't so long."

"Clear night, though!" Peter said, "So no transforming back and forth."

"Thank god," Remus chuckled, setting his presents in front of him. He picked up the one from Peter: a thin, heavy present with ridges on the edges. He opened it up slowly, still overwhelmed with the gifts just as he had been six years prior. He ripped off the wrapping and let out a quick bark of laughter. "You idiot."

"It's a good picture!" Peter snickered.

The picture in question, in a decorative metal frame, showed Remus on his bed, clearly having one of his better days with a bright smile, shining eyes, and a little more colour to his skin. He had on black trousers, a blazer, and a silk shirt (all of which was Sirius's and hung off of Remus unflatteringly, but Sirius found undeniably attractive). To his left was a deer, with a mini knitted tophat placed carefully on one of the antlers. To his right was a large, fluffy black dog, with a similar knitted hat. On Remus's head was a fat rat, with a very, very small bowtie on. They'd taken the picture as a joke in the middle of their sixth year, and Remus didn't know any of them still had a copy - until then.

"I love it," Remus said, his grin growing wider, "Oh it's awesome!"

"Best picture of us lot!"

"I know. I'll never know how I managed to get a bunch of animals to sit so nicely! I can't even manage that when you're all human!"

Remus's next gift was from Sirius - and he opened the wrapping to reveal a new satchel. Not just a new satchel, however - it was a brown, leather bag, with golden clasps and buckles, and a strap with white detail stitching. It was no less than gorgeous, and would look so out of place with his tatty cardigans and scuffed suede Chelsea boots. 

"Oh Sirius, it's lovely, thank you!" He smiled, quickly leaning over to kiss his boyfriend on the cheek.

"You're very welcome, my love. Let's hope you don't spill any ink in this one, hey?" Sirius teased. Remus nodded and laughed. 

"Yeah, lets."

James's present wasn't wrapped, but was instead in some kind of black jewellery box. He opened it up slowly. Inside, on the white cushion, was a silver chain, with a small book pendant on it. The book was open, and the 'pages' had 'Disturbing The Peace' engraved into it.

"It's charmed," James explained, "The engraving changes to whatever book you're reading, or last read! Not very practical, I know, but pretty, I hope. Oh, and not real silver," He clarified, "It's gold, but plated with Rodium to look silver."

Remus rested the small book charm on his fingertips, running his thumb over the little engravings. "Oh, it's stunning. Thank you guys, for all of it!"

"You're welcome, Remus!" Peter smiled.

"You deserve it!" James nodded.

Sirius placed a kiss on Remus's temple, "Happy Christmas, baby."

"Come on," Remus laughed it off, blinking back the tears building in his eyes, "Your turn now, Pads."

"So it is!"

James's presents were handed to him in two big boxes, to Sirius's delight, and Remus wondered if he'd ever seen his partner grin so brightly. In the first box was a pair of black biker boots, with soles thick enough to make Remus seem even smaller next to Sirius. The second box had a motorcycle helmet. It was vintage looking, and leather, matching Sirius's jacket and new boots perfectly (and Sirius, to his delight, insisted that Remus could have his old one so they could go riding together. Remus quickly refused).

Sirius then rushed to open Remus's present - a load of band, biker and punk patches - and he hurriedly dove into an explanation of where he'd put each one on his jacket, almost jumping up to fix them on before remembering he had another gift to open. 

Sirius opened Peters gift just as fast, but stopped as the paper finally came off. In his hands was a photo album, with a plain black cover, other than a small silver moon and star in the centre. He opened it up and took in a sharp breath. 

The first page had a picture of Remus and Sirius from their second year, covering in webbing from a prank. He turned the page, and the next was a picture of the four of them, back in first year, from the day that James broke his leg. Each page had a different picture from over the years, a combination of all of them, some including Lily, others including Silverlocke, or O'Kelly, or Longbottom and Colgate. Some had the Marauders by Fort Dragon, all the way through the years. Others were in the pits, or the trophy room, or just the dorm. Some pictures were muggle, freezing a moment in time so beautifully, while others were wizard, and played some of the most amazing memories on loop. One page Sirius flicked to had him looking puzzled for a moment, before laughing. There was no picture, instead a little bit of writing saying 'insert photo here'.

Gently placing the album on the floor, Sirius lept up, rummaging in his bedside draw before grabbing the photo and joining his friends. 

The photo showed Remus, with his nose deep into a book, walking into a wall, arms flailing as he barely stayed upright. 

"Oh my god," Remus groaned, "I know Peter said he gave you a copy but-"

"You kept it?!" Wormtail laughed, "After, what, six years?!"

"Of course! I love it!"

"It's embarrassing, that's what."

"It's adorable," Sirius argued, adding the photo into its spot. "You really haven't changed, have you?" He kidded.

Remus yawned once more, and smiled. "Hm... I guess not."

-

Remus pulled the duvet up to his chin and groaned. Sirius - as he always did this time of the month - wondered if it was cruel to think Remus was still cute. His bones would be breaking in half, his skin would be torn, flesh shredded up and his mind no longer his own, in only a few short hours. But something about how he still made sure his whole body was covered by the blanket, and how his smile, however weak, still tugged at his heartstrings, reminded Sirius of how his Remus was the other 27 days of the month. 

"We'll do Christmas Crackers when you're better, love," Sirius smiled, sat in the chair next to the hospital bed. The sun was lowering in the sky, painting the hospital wing a gorgeous, but forboding orange, and Sirius knew it wouldn't be long until Pomfrey would be coming to take Remus to the Shack. 

"Yeah," Remus nodded weakly, "Too loud otherwise, I think. Plus, I have another present for you," He said. He pushed himself upright, and grabbed his (new) satchel from the bedside cabinet. 

"Rem, you didn't-"

"No, I didn't have to. But I wanted to," He interrupted, pulling out a small rectangular book. "I didn't have time to wrap it, I'm sorry."

"No, no, it's okay!" Sirius said, taking the book from Remus and beginning to flick through it. On the right pages, there was nothing, while the left was ruled. He took it all the way back to the first page. On the left was a drawing - pretty bad, really, and Sirius couldn't help but laugh. The drawing was of him and Remus, seemingly dancing, with a record player in the background. Written on the left said '21/12/77 danced to elton john to convince sirius he loved christmas' in Remus's messy scrawl, and Sirius brushed a thumb over it.

"I was thinking, it could act as a scrapbook? Drawings on one side, writing on the other. Obviously, your drawings would look better than mine, but the point is still- mmph!" Remus was cut off as Sirius quickly kissed him.

"Sorry! Just- you have," Sirius exclaimed, hugging the scrapbook to his chest.

"Huh?"

"Convinced me to love Christmas, you know? Like... okay, last year was shitty. But I can't change that. I have you, and Pete and James, and you guys should be why I celebrate. I shouldn't be moping around and complaining. So thanks. For putting up with me."

"You're welcome, love," Remus simpered, "You're worth putting up with."

"A-actually!" Sirius shouted a little too loud, quickly apologising as Remus winced, "I got you this, and almost decided against it, because it's weird and maybe it's moving too fast, but hey, fuck it, life's too short, and I can deal with it!" He dove his hands into his pockets, and pulled something out, dropping it in Remus's hand. 

"A key..." Remus said curiously.

"Well yes, obviously! I mean, it's totally cool if you say no, like totally, but I thought I might as well ask even if its ages away and-"

"Pads! I'm so confused, what's the key for? Where does it go?"

"That one?" Sirius laughed, "That one leads nowhere, its metaphorical - big word for me, I know - but I didn't know how else to ask you and-" Sirius stopped. "You... don't get it?"

"Not really," Remus chuckled, fiddling with the key in his hands.

"It's an apartment key. Well, could be. Would be in the future." 

"Uh..."

"Move in with me?" Sirius asked hurriedly. "After school. We can find our own place! Just me and you. Together," Sirius smiled, shrugging his shoulders as though it wasn't a big deal. 

Remus's amused smirk dropped. 

"You... y-you want me t-t-to live with you?"

"Of course. Do you not want to live with me?" Sirius sounded nervous, his lip between his teeth and he looked down to the key in Remus's hands. A stupid idea it was, in hindsight. 

Remus's lips parted as he tried to speak, before closing again with no words coming out. Tears seemed to slip down his face slowly, and Sirius's breath stopped.

"Ah, uh, yeah," Sirius stammered, "I get it, that's fine. Stupid thing to ask, really. And a stupid time. Do you- you want me to leave you to it? I'll still be at the full tonight, but- well, maybe we need to talk about-"

"Yes."

"W-what?"

"Yes," Remus sighed. He wiped away the tears with the back of his hand. "Yes, I want to live with you."

Sirius felt the weight from his shoulders drop, and he looked up to Remus's eyes, his own bright and watery.

"Really?"

"Yes, Padfoot," Remus laughed, "Of course I do! I just- I can't offer anything, and I don't want to seem like I'm just... mooching off of you."

"You aren't like that, Rem. I don't mind. You being with me is more than enough." Sirius grinned, before his own smile faltered. "Oh my god, my boyfriend is moving in with me."

"Mhm."

"And he's gonna be around me all the time."

"He is," Remus jested.

"That's so awesome..."

Remus laid back down on the bed, his eyes drifting shut a little.

"Oh!" Sirius whispered, "I should leave you to rest! You'll have to go soon."

"No, no," Remus mumbled, "Don't. Just... tell me all the things we'll do in our new apartment."

"All the things, eh?" Sirius smirked, waggling his eyebrows. "Well, if you insist my dear!"

"You and your dirty mind. Come on, all the cute things..."

"Like... how I get to wake up to your gorgeous face every morning?"

"Hmm..."

"Or how we can bake at stupid times of the night when you can't sleep. Or... we can decorate the rooms however we like, and we can argue about whether we have nice tea sets or mismatched mugs."

"Mismatched, of course."

"We can go all out on birthdays, and have our friends over for dinner parties. And the best part?"

"What's the best part, Pads?"

"Every Christmas, we can decorate the apartment, and dance to Elton John, and go ice-skating in the living room, and play board games until we can't stay awake, and give presents on Christmas morning." Sirius smiled, taking Remus's hands in his own.

"You know what's even better than all that?" Remus asked.

"What?"

"I get to do all of that with you."


End file.
